Pax Silica: The tech alliance that Sergio Gor says India to be invited to join – Firstpost

The United States is planning to invite India to join Pax Silica next month, Sergio Gor, Washington’s newly-appointed ambassador to New Delhi, mentioned on Monday (January 12). He also stated that the two countries will hold discussions on trade on a call slated for Tuesday.

India and the US have not reached a trade deal yet, with ties between the two taking a downturn. New Delhi is facing tariffs as high as 50 per cent after Washington imposed an additional 25 per cent duties on Indian goods as a “penalty” for buying Russian oil.

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As the two sides continue trade talks, what is Pax Silica that the US wants India to join? We take a look.

What is Pax Silica?

Pax Silica is a US-led initiative to secure the silicon supply chain, including critical minerals, semiconductors and artificial intelligence (AI).

The term combines the Latin word for peace and stability and silica, which is the compound that is refined into silicon — a key element in the production of computer chips.

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The America-led coalition of countries aims to build a “secure, resilient, and innovation-driven ecosystem across the entire global technology supply chain—from critical minerals and energy inputs to advanced manufacturing, semiconductors, AI infrastructure, and logistics,” according to the US State Department.

Pax Silica is an international grouping to “unite the countries that host the world’s most advanced technology companies to unleash the economic potential of the latest AI age.”

It plans to safeguard the silicon supply chain — from critical minerals and energy inputs to advanced manufacturing, semiconductors, AI infrastructure, and logistics.

Which are the member countries of Pax Silica?

The Pax Silica Declaration was signed at a summit held in the United States on December 12-13, 2025. The founding signatories included Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Australia and Israel.

It also included guest contributions from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the European Union (EU), Canada, and Taiwan. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) also attended the summit without formally joining.

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Qatar is set to sign the Pax Silica declaration on January 12, followed by the UAE on January 15, American Undersecretary of State for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg told Reuters in an interview.

The two Gulf countries joining the initiative would provide the US with access to two of the world’s richest sovereign funds as it attempts to cut reliance on China for the raw materials and computing power behind AI, noted Rest of World.

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Each member of the US-led programme brings something critical to the table. Japan’s strength is its precision manufacturing, South Korea has semiconductor giants, Australia has mineral wealth, Singapore has established logistics and financing capacity, and Israel has its cybersecurity capabilities.

Pax Silica is a key part of the Trump administration’s economic statecraft strategy to bolster cooperation among allied partners.

“The Silicon Declaration isn’t just a diplomatic communiqué,” Helberg told Reuters. “It’s meant to be an operational document for a fresh economic security consensus.”

He described Pax Silica as a “coalition of capabilities,” with membership driven by the industrial strengths and companies of each country.

The member countries are likely to coordinate on semiconductor design and fabrication, kickstart joint ventures and align investments in supply-chain resilience for AI development and critical minerals, reported SCMP. 

Helberg mentioned that this year, the Pax Silica grouping plans to expand membership, develop strategic projects to secure supply chains and work together on policies to protect critical infrastructure and technology.

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While India was not among the founding signatories, it was expected that it could become a part of it in the future, given the South Asian country’s growing AI ambitions and its importance to the global technology supply chain.

“As the world adopts recent technology, it is essential that India and the United States work hand in hand from the very start of this initiative,” Sergio Gor remarked on Monday.

#WATCH | Delhi: After assuming charge as the US Ambassador to India, Sergio Gor says, "I am pleased to announce that India will be invited to join PaxSilica as a full member next month..."

He says "... I also want to share with you currently a new initiative that the United States… pic.twitter.com/DEpnRvJcMX

— ANI (@ANI) January 12, 2026

Is Pax Silica against China?

The Pax Silica initiative aims to reduce Western reliance on China for critical minerals, chips, and AI infrastructure.

The State Department’s statement on the programme, mentioning “coercive dependencies” and “the importance of fair market practices” was widely perceived as referring to China’s dominance in rare earth production and refining. The Asian giant mines around 70 per cent of key rare earths.

“If China perceives this initiative as an offensive move against its interests, there is a possibility that it may respond accordingly,” Dongkeun Lee, a policy fellow at the Asia-Pacific Leadership Network, a Seoul-based think tank, told SCMP.

China’s response to the grouping has been restrained.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman on December 12 urged those involved to “adhere to the principles of a trade economy and fair competition”.

However, the state-run tabloid Global Times described the move as an attempt to “decouple” China from the global semiconductor supply chain, which it warned would hike costs.

Speaking to SCMP, Kevin Chen, associate research fellow at Singapore’s S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, reported that Beijing is expected to see Pax Silica as yet another US-led containment effort. However, he estimated that China’s response would be to strengthen cooperation through existing regional mechanisms and push harder for accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), rather than creating a rival bloc.

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The CPTPP is a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) among 12 countries: Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United Kingdom and Vietnam. China is eager to join the pact but faces various hurdles.

With inputs from agencies

TagsIndia United States of AmericaHomeExplainersUS envoy Sergio Gor says India to be invited to join Pax Silica in Feb: What is this tech alliance?End of Article